Here’s something I’ve been working on: Moccs. The pattern is now available to buy on Ravelry here.

They come in 2 sizes, and they’re not felted, just knit, a quick one at that. Perfect for the upcoming holiday season; something to tuck in a bag for a weekend away, or to slip on your feet for an evening on the couch.

Here’s another pic. They’re made with the ultra-luscious Blue Sky Alpacas Extra, just one skein. You could probably make 3 pair from two skeins.

There’s a little of the Southwest/Sundance catalog about this design too, isn’t there?

photo courtesy of Interweave

I love love my skirt which I made in Rowan Purelife Revive (gorgeous recycled yarn, one third each silk, cotton and rayon), the slip stitch stripes in Habu Cotton Gima. It’s knit sideways in reverse stockinette. The only features I altered were the back seam and waistband. The pattern called for a drawstring but I prefer a hem with elastic inserted. And instead of sewing the back seam I finished it with a three-needle bind off, seam on the outside. Apologies for this strange angle, a skirt selfie is tough! you get the picture.

My friend Paula made one in Euroflax linen, and another in wool. A skirt is such a great project and they’re surprisingly flattering provided they have enough width to not be tight too across the rear. That’s the secret. This is a wonderful design.

First, an announcement: all of my yarn that can be seen on South Seas Knitting can now be bought from Wildfiber, my former store, which almost closed but was rescued at the last minute by two lovely ladies, Teri and Claudia. They don’t yet have e-commerce up and running but I’ll bet if you called or email them they would send you whatever you want.

I have been a recalcitrant blogger, I know. It’s because of life’s changes that we must all go through and there’ve been many in the past year. When I popped in to say hello last October, I was in New Zealand for the funeral of my only sibling, my sister, Robyn, who had been unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer a few months before, and whom I thankfully came to New Zealand to see a month before she passed away. Writing this, I still can hardly believe she’s gone. Thankfully, I am still connected to her through my nephew and niece, both of whom I adore, and who have two gorgeous children apiece.

Here are my nephew Joe’s two kids wearing their hats I knitted for them. Ruben’s hat is the one from my last post, that I had to make all over again due to the twisted stitches. Lucia’s is the Blue Sky Alpacas Kitty Hat, a genius design by Lisa Whiting. I love this hat so much I’ve made another one for my niece’s little girl.

At the end of last year I embarked on a major knitting project. After spending three years writing my two latest books, I fancied following someone else’s pattern for a change, so I went searching for something to use up my enormous stash of Koigu. I decided on Hue Shift Afghan by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence.

It uses 10 shades, with 100 permutations. I love the way Kerin combined the colors and it’s the best use of mitered squares I’ve even seen. It’s made of four sections. The only sewing is the connection of these 4 squares. I knit the whole blanket on 2 size US 5 double pointed needles [I have a habit of using the shortest needles I can whenever I can and often use a couple of dpns]

Here’s my blanket when I was about to begin the 4th and final square. I could barely believe I’d gotten this far.

and here it is, finished with the 10 rows of garter stitch edging. I made it for my son, Pete.

Before I parted ways with my glorious and beloved stash of yarn sold to Wildfiber, they invited me to participate in a pop up store. so. much. fun.

Over three days I saw many of my friends and former customers. It was like having a knitting shop all over again. And part of having that all-over-again-feeling, was the exhaustion at the end of each day!

and Karen wearing Wandering Cable Scarf. (I recently added this pattern to Ravelry). How pretty is this pink and yellow colour combination?

Now I’ll leave you with a peek in a corner of our garden at our tiny house in Santa Monica. We are now living in it. It is very very small, but I’ve been reminded that I’m a spoiled Kiwi-Californian who is used to space. We’ve made a gorgeous little garden, full of the drought tolerant plants I love so much, and 5 New Zealand pohutukawa trees in pots.

This is the price of watching a British soap opera (Mistresses), one of those guilty pleasures that has you counting the hours til the end of the day when you can tune in and knit. I know you know what I’m talking about.

There I was, peacefully following my chart to make this hat for my little nephew Ruben, heaving a sigh of relief as I completed the motif and began the downhill slope decreasing at the top of the hat. As I’d worked this far, I noticed that the hat seemed annoyingly flipped over the needle, something I thought (remember the show is gripping) would “iron itself out” at the end. Hmmm. No. It was a classic twist, more dramatic than any faux pas I’ve made in the past because it involved all that color work.